aq a changing kids’ worlds, ONE CHILD TIME

Ever since she was young, Christina Hemmer has been a natural go-getter and world changer, far more inclined to make things happen rather than wait for things to happen. As the vice president of clinical services for Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, Hemmer comments, “People so often want things to just ‘turn out.’ But you can’t wait for things to just ‘turn out.’ You have to actively pursue things — make things happen.” That go-getter spirit is exactly what has enabled her to get to where she is today, changing kids’ worlds, one child at a time.

Growing up in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Hemmer was a schoolmate of Jacob Wetterling, a 1989 kidnapping victim whose case has not yet been resolved. She recounts his disappearance as an experience that significantly shaped her interest in mental health, awakening her desire to walk with people through their darkest moments. “I didn’t want to walk the other way; I wanted to be able to do something for those who were hurting.” As a teen, Hemmer found herself wrestling with depression and anxiety, but she lacked the vocabulary to express her struggles. Instead, her coping mechanism was to throw herself into as many activities as possible. Now, with her knowledge of mental health, she sees her struggles clearly on the pages of her journals and knows her busy involvement was, in part, an effort to ignore issues going on under the surface and avoid the feelings she could not name.

At NDSU in the late ‘90s, Hemmer had her sights on a biotech degree until she realized that hanging out in a lab with rats might not be the best way to satisfy her extroverted, peopleloving nature. Taking a year off to re-evaluate, she answered phones at Blue Cross Blue Shield and found herself wanting to discuss the callers’ personal issues rather than simply tell them their deductible amount. Determining that her heart and mind were designed to help people — especially children and teens — through the muck and mire of life, she re-enrolled at NDSU to pursue sociology. Also during that year off of school, while playing pool with friends at Bison Turf after work one night, Hemmer met the man who would become her husband. After losing a round of pool to her, Jason Hemmer walked her to her car, asked her on a date, and they’ve been together ever since. Hemmer says, “He is the most intelligent and kind person I have ever met. He is a Boy Scout leader, football coach, plays church league softball, and would drop anything to help a friend. He inspires me. He is a very calm presence, and really my complete opposite in many ways.”

The same fall she re-entered NDSU, Hemmer saw an advertisement in the newspaper for a job at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. The prospect of working with at-risk kids in a Christian environment piqued her interest, so she applied for the parttime, entry-level job and has never looked back. Ever since that first part-time job, Hemmer has loved the work and mission of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. On a mission to “help at-risk children and their families succeed in the name of Christ,” the Ranch provides a safe place to live, learn and heal for children who have psychiatric, behavioral and trauma struggles. The Ranch serves children ages 10–19, offering 24-hour access to highly trained staff who provide structure, therapy and training in necessary life skills.

The Ranch consists of two types of youth homes. The residential child care facilities (group foster care) are located in Fargo and Minot. Children ages 12–19 come to these facilities with moderate mental health or behavioral struggles such as susceptibility to self-harm, drug and/or alcohol use, refusal to attend school, and aggressive behavior. The psychiatric residential treatment facilities, located in Fargo, Bismarck and Minot, offer the highest level of psychiatric care available in the state. Youth here are ages 10–18, require 24/7 supervision and are battling complex behavioral and/or psychological conditions with significant increased risk of suicide, self-harm, aggressive responses, impulsivity and anxiety. They benefit from an intensive program of high-level therapy, psychiatric care, and nursing support for an average of four to five months. The Fargo campus is located near Davies High School in south Fargo and houses 16 students. Statewide, 93 kids live at the facilities at any one time. Additionally, about 100 children and adolescents receive outpatient psychiatric and psychological services each month.

While at the Ranch, students are enrolled in its fully accredited Dakota Memorial School. The Fargo school, which opened two years ago as the newest DMS campus in the state, held its first graduation this past May. With rocking desk chairs, swivel stools and under-the-table bicycle pedals, DMS classrooms are designed for students who’ve suffered through trauma and struggle with focus and attention. DMS teachers avoid phrases such as “eyes on me,” “pay attention” or “sit still,” and students are allowed to listen to their iPods while they work. As Hemmer mentioned, “Sometimes total focus is more than a student can handle. We can’t expect that.” In addition to the students who live at the Ranch, the school serves another 45 students who live off campus but benefit from a smaller, more adaptive learning environment.

Having been with the Ranch her entire career, Hemmer has lived faithfully by her mantra of “making things happen,” readily walking through every door the organization has opened to her and trusting that God has been the one leading her steps. Early on she discovered that God had given her a love for mental health and a deep passion for serving those in dire need. Wanting to be an advocate for teens battling mental health struggles and a knowledgeable resource for families, Hemmer pursued a master’s degree in counseling and then spent years earning her license as a professional clinical counselor. She laughs at those years, remembering the craziness of full-time grad school, working full time, getting married, buying their first house, and having their first child, Meghan. Shortly after Hemmer finished her master’s in counseling, in their best attempt to keep up the craziness, they welcomed their second baby, Zachary, and Jason went back to school to earn his mechanical engineering degree at NDSU (while also working). Jason has worked for Trane for 19 years, where he is now a project engineer.

A few years after becoming a counselor, Hemmer was promoted to a position in operations and human resources. Desiring to more strategically blend the organization’s love for kids with the most effective business tactics for maximum impact, Hemmer decide to pursue her second master’s degree. Soon after acquiring her master’s of business administration degree, Hemmer moved into the position of clinical director, overseeing all treatment provided to all kids in all locations. Last fall, Hemmer became vice president of clinical services for the entire organization. One of her primary efforts in this role has been streamlining the treatment plan for each individual — uniting each child’s nursing, therapy and educational staff, as well as the family, to be a professional, integrated team. She cares deeply about giving clients a voice as part of their treatment plan. “The family is wondering, ‘Who is going to value my voice?’ These families have heard a hundred different voices about what they ‘should’ be doing. We say to them, ‘Tell us what you’ve been through…I bet it’s been exhausting.’”

Another emphasis in her new role is the integration of trauma-informed care — one of Hemmer’s passions — into all areas of practice. Specializing in sensory-based trauma care, Hemmer helps students recreate sights, sounds and smells related to their past trauma, enabling them to work through the trauma of their past. Much of this trauma is sexual and physical abuse, as well as neglect and abandonment, usually requiring 14–18 sessions of hard work for the youth. Staff members also receive training to cope with the vicarious trauma that they experience as counselors. “We laugh a lot. We have too, because so often it’s either laugh or cry. We believe in humor here.” Hemmer also oversees suicide assessment, which involves talking to kids in a loving, direct, straightforward way to determine their risk for self-harm. Because kids are her first love, Hemmer has kept one-on-one therapy a priority in each role she’s filled. A short walk through the girls’ dorm area quickly reveals her tremendous rapport with and genuine love for each student. She knows their names, their stories and their hearts, and it’s clear the children there know she is for them.

Hemmer’s love and gratitude for every single donation is also evident. The Ranch accepts insurance for many of its services, but the facilities, operations and services not covered by insurance are entirely dependent on a very generous donor base. This donor base allows the Ranch to expand its physical facilities, staff and outreach to meet the growing needs of the youth and families of North Dakota. The Ranch is currently constructing a large addition on its Fargo campus that will house a gymnasium, dining hall, fitness room, sensory room and chapel. Hemmer routinely reminds her staff, “Someone donated pants and a shirt to the thrift store for this. Someone wrote out a check for $20, even if they didn’t have much money. Someone is praying for us. These buildings are built by love and prayer.”

This past June, in her constant quest to do new things and impact lives, Hemmer took her 12-year-old daughter on a mission trip to Ethiopia. “I just needed something that would teach me in a way I’d never been taught,” Hemmer explains. True to her “make things happen” nature, Hemmer wasn’t particularly interested in travelling around the world unless it had the potential to make a long-term life-changing impact for those she was travelling to. So when the opportunity arose to travel with a local ministry (Project 1:17) to Ethiopia for the purpose of training educators, she knew it was exactly what she was looking for. With her love for serving high-risk kids and her passion for trauma-informed care, the opportunity of training educators thrilled her. While there, Hemmer was struck at how easily the social barriers of economics, race, language and religion came tumbling down: “When we open ourselves to learning from others, the differences decrease and we are able to serve without judgment. When we put ourselves in another's shoes, demonstrating active empathy, we are able to see that people are people.” Bringing her daughter on the trip was a tremendous opportunity to reconnect, stretch themselves, develop their strengths, face weaknesses, serve others in life-changing ways, and take “safe risks” together. “Risk is where growth happens. This was her first opportunity to really be caught off guard and get uncomfortable, and I got to experience that with her. Our relationship can’t only be about the dirty socks on the floor. It’s so easy to focus on the things that don’t matter.”

WHEN WE OPEN OURSELVES TO LEARNING FROM OTHERS, THE DIFFERENCES DECREASE AND WE ARE ABLE TO SERVE WITHOUT JUDGMENT. WHEN WE PUT OURSELVES IN ANOTHER'S SHOES, DEMONSTRATING ACTIVE EMPATHY, WE ARE ABLE TO SEE THAT PEOPLE are PEOPLE.

It seems that Hemmer actually spends very little time focusing on things that don’t matter. In every area of her life, Hemmer is certainly a woman who makes things happen — things that have a lifelong, even eternal, impact on others. Yet there’s no way she could ever do it on her own; she credits God as being the one who works through her, guides her, and gives her the privilege of serving others. She also knows none of this could happen without Jason: “Seriously, he has to try to balance me out, which is quite an undertaking. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have the foundation to build all these life adventures around. [Our spouses] help hold us accountable to who we are and who we want to be. I am so grateful for an amazing husband, kids, parents, close friends and mentors.”

While changing the world may seem like a daunting or impossible task, Hemmer is living proof that we can change one child’s world. From guiding teens in our own state and community, to training educators all the way across the world, Hemmer certainly is “making things happen” everywhere she goes; changing kids’ worlds, one child at a time.

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